This disc features solo keyboard arrangements of works by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach originally scored for other instruments. In the second half of the eighteenth century the demand for keyboard music increased rapidly, as musical skills became a social requisite for young ladies of the upper classes. Providing compositions for these new keyboard players was financially profitable, but Bach also had another reason for welcoming arrangements: keyboard instruments were his favourite medium.The seven short pieces on this well-filled disc all exist in versions for various small groups of instruments or, in some cases, for mechanical instruments. In his comments, Spanyi suggests that they could in fact be the original versions, perhaps written down in keyboard notation as drafts for further versions, and later arranged by Bach on for various ensembles. Miklos Spanyi has grouped these short pieces around four larger-scale works, of which two are arrangements of symphonies, probably not arranged by or for the composer himself. The solo keyboard arrangements of the two concertos, made by Bach himself and easier to play than the original concertos, were intended for amateurs. On this disc, Spanyi uses an extremely versatile and colourful tangent piano, a very popular instrument in the second half of the 18th century. This particular instrument was built in 1998, after a model from 1799.

Tracklist:

Symphony in C major, Wq 174 (H.649)~I. Allegro assai
Symphony in C major, Wq 174 (H.649)~II. Andante
Symphony in C major, Wq 174 (H.649)~III. Allegro
Allegro ma non troppo in E flat major, Wq 116/52 (H. 326)
Polonoise in E flat major, Wq 116/44 (H. 318)
March in F major, Wq 116/45 (H. 319)
Menuet in G major, Wq 116/48 (H. 322)
Concerto in D major, Wq 43/2 (H. 472)~I. Allegro di molto
Concerto in D major, Wq 43/2 (H. 472)~II. Andante
Concerto in D major, Wq 43/2 (H. 472)~III. Allegretto
Allegro in E major, Wq 116/37 (H. 311)
Menuet in F major, Wq 116/32 (H. 306)
Concerto in E flat major, Wq 43/3 (H. 473)~I. Allegro
Concerto in E flat major, Wq 43/3 (H. 473)~II. Larghetto
Concerto in E flat major, Wq 43/3 (H. 473)~III. Presto
Menuet in G major, Wq 116/30 (H. 304)
Symphony in E flat major, Wq 179 (H. 654)~I. Prestissimo
Symphony in E flat major, Wq 179 (H. 654)~II. Larghetto
Symphony in E flat major, Wq 179 (H. 654)~III. Presto

UPC: 7318590023976
Label: Bis
Release Date: 9.6.24
Format: CD

C Bach .P.E. / Spanyi - Solo Keyboard Music Vol. 41 (CD)